Welcome to Elizabeth's Blog

Hello and welcome to Sarah MacLean! She’s one of these funny, bright, outrageous women that I love to meet and had to share with all of you. I think you will agree! So here are Five Things about Sarah MacLean:

1. Where is the most beautiful/romantic place you’ve ever been? There’s an island off the eastern edge of Puerto Rico called Vieques—it’s largely untouched because the US Navy used to use the rainforest on the island for bombing drills (which isn’t romantic, I know, but stick with me), so they’ve closed off 80% of the island to people, letting the whole thing grow wild.

It’s a lovely, sleepy place, filled with gorgeous beaches and charming people . . . and it’s the home to one of the largest bioluminescent bays in the world. Because of some combination of mangrove trees and fish and the tide, there’s a specific kind of amoebae that lives in this bay that glows when it becomes agitated. At night, the bay is pitch black, but everything that moves—boats, fish, people—light up in the water. It’s amazingly romantic, because swimming in the bay at night is like swimming in starlight.

2. How do you come up with the names for your Hero/Heroine? I’m terrible at names. They usually change three or four times during the writing of the book, and it’s a total find and replace disaster. I’ve been known to ask friends, family and readers to name them, and I am not above using great names of people I know.

As for all those dukedoms and earldoms and marquessates? I have a large map of London in 1908 on the wall of my office, and I lift street names for titles. It’s cheating, probably, but oh, do I loathe naming characters!

3. Where do you go for inspiration when the creativity well is running a little dry? I’m very lucky to live in New York City, so I have 8 million people and about a million and one places in which to find inspiration. But here are the go-tos:

1) Coney Island – The closest thing to a beach near me, filled with wacky carnival barkers and fabulous hotdogs and a pier that goes 100 yards out into the ocean. I like to go there on cold winter days and walk the boardwalk.
2) The Metropolitan Museum of Art – It’s enormous. As big as you think? Bigger. And you can’t see the entire collection in a day. In fact, I’m pretty certain that you can’t see the entire collection in a month, because I always seem to find something new. I love the Greek & Roman Art rooms, but somehow always seem to get lost in American furniture.
3) The Top of the Empire State Building (at night) – Little known fact: The Empire State Building observation deck is open until 2am, and you haven’t seen New York until you’ve seen it from the top of the ESB in the middle of the night. Another fun fact? The lines at 11:30pm are very short. Which is awesome.

4. What new authors have you recently added to your TBR pile? I loved Anna Randol’s debut Regency-Constantinople-set A Secret in her Kiss, so I’m really looking forward to her next. I just started the Sookie Stackhouse novels (I know, I know, I’ve been under a rock, apparently, but gorgeous True Blood men have made me see the light), and I’m loving them.

5. What are your top three favorite movies? Ocean’s Eleven – I am a sucker for a great heist movie, and this one is my favorite. I’ll take either the original or the Clooney/Pitt version (although George Clooney in a tux is a particular pleasure).

When Harry Met Sally – I’ve loved this movie since the very first time I saw it, and now that I live in New York, it’s even better. Every time we do anything that’s Harry & Sally do . . . buy a Christmas tree, eat at Katz’s deli, sing Surrey With the Fringe on Top at Sharper Image (what? It totally happens!), I get totally tingly. And start speaking like a Nora Ephron character.

300 – In which a classic Greek story gets mixed up with CGI effects and . . . oh, yeah. Gerard Butler & Michael Fassbender’s CGI abs. Thank you very very much, Hollywood.

And thank you, Sarah, for dropping by! You can learn more about Sarah on her website. Her newest book, A Rogue by Any Other Name is available now.

I personally find Katharine Ashe a kick to hang out with. She’s funny, wicked and smart, as well as an unapologetic lover of the genre. Those all count highly in my book. So I would like you to take a moment and enjoy the wit of Katharine Ashe, or as we now call her around here:

1. Did you have a nickname growing up? I went by Katie. My father and one of my sisters called me Kate, which I loved because it was special to them. Also, in second grade when I volunteered to pass out the juice for snack time, a nasty boy called me “Katie Katie the Paper Cup Lady” and it stuck, sometimes morphing to “Katie Katie the Big Fat Lady”, neither of which I loved. Now, Elizabeth, please feel free to give me a paper cut and pour lemon juice on it.

EB: I can do one better and share this photo of you, Sophia Nash, Cathy Maxwell and moi goofing off at RT after copious amounts of cupcakes and whatever was in those bottles.

2. Where is the most beautiful/romantic place you’ve ever been? Kauai in the Hawaiian islands. White sand beaches. Cerulean waves dancing with dolphins. Palm trees swooshing in the warm breeze. Tropical drink in my hand. Three days after wedding my Prince Charming.

3. Do you celebrate when you finish a book and what do you do? I drink champagne. I always drink champagne, so this isn’t really unusual, but it’s still fun! I also weep a little. I love finishing a book and I also hate it. Living through those declarations of love from my hero and heroine just sucks my heart out! (In a good heart-sucking way.) But then having to leave them… knowing I will miss them so much… that’s horrible!!!

4. If you could go on a date with any superhero, who would you choose and why? This is a Very Hard Question. But probably Spiderman. He’s brilliant, funny, and a sexy fighting menace who teases villains as he thrashes them. He pretends to be a big nerd to protect those he loves. He has a secret identity (I adore heroes with secret identities! which is why I write them), and he doesn’t always make the right choices but he always makes up for it.

5. Most embarrassing song on your iPod? Every song Rick Springfield ever recorded. Does that count?

6.  If you were going to an island for a long time, name 5 things you would bring. My husband, son, two dogs, and my laptop to write. Wait, do people and animals count as things? Because if I get to take my beloveds with me anyway, the other four things would be my e-reader all stocked with books, sunblock, chocolate, and warm socks.

Katharine Ashe is the author of four historical romances, including her just released, When a Scot Loves a Lady, the first in her new Falcon Club series. You can discover more about Katharine and her books at her website. Katharine can also be found over on The Ballroom Blog, where she and her fellow Ballroom gang spill Regency gossip about the dashing ladies and lords found in their books.

I’ve known Maya for many years–have loved her books since her first one–and finally got a chance to meet her in person last summer. It was, no surprise, a delight. And now I want to share her with you and make sure you are reading her books. So with no further fanfare  (’cause she needs very little), may I present, Five Things about Maya Rodale:

1. Where is the most beautiful/romantic place you’ve ever been? Tanzania. The husband and I traveled there on our honeymoon, staying in a gorgeous, remote tented camp. The scenery and wildlife are just stunning. The whole experience was part of the inspiration behind the adventurous hero of The Tattooed Duke. It’s impossible to explain how amazing it was, so I’m including a picture instead.

2. Do you celebrate when you finish a book and what you do? Absolutely! I treat myself to a hair cut, mani-pedi and night out to celebrate. But then it’s back to catching up on everything else I ignored while on deadline: bills, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. Goodbye 1820, hello again 2012.

3. If you were not writing, what job would you have? Let’s just say that I am like Monica from Friends when it comes to cleaning and organizing. I LOVE IT. So if I wasn’t writing, I’d probably start my own business de-cluttering and organizing other people’s stuff. Just me and my label maker and frequent trips to The Container Store. Joy.

4. Most embarrassing song on your iPod. Oh goodness, just one?! So as not to insult any artists or anyone’s musical tastes, I’ll say it’s my own recordings that are probably the most embarrassing—especially as a few were recorded with a friend and bottle of wine. It’s a good thing I switched my career path from rock star to romance writer.

5. Print or ebook? I confess: I am now a fairly devoted e-reader. I love the ease, convenience and lightness of it. Since I live in an NYC apartment with another very avid reader, it’s also a matter of space at this point—we just don’t have room for more books!

Maya Rodale is the author of numerous historical romance novels. She lives in New York City with a rogue of her own and their dog, Penelope. You can find her on the web at www.mayarodale.com, on Facebook and on Twitter. Her latest release, The Tattooed Duke, is available for order now and releases next Tuesday, February 28th.